Mumbai, April 14 -- The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has asked former home minister of Maharashtra and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh to appear before it for preliminary enquiry (PE) in connection with the corruption charges pressed against him by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh in a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, said media reports.

In his letter, Singh had alleged that Deshmukh had set a target for the police to extort Rs 100 crore a month in Mumbai from bars, restaurants, hotels, and other sources and alleged that he asked police officers to conduct probes in the manner desired by him.

Param Bir Singh, who was transferred to low-key Home Guard in the aftermath of the investigation in connection with t...